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Educator and Historian

Carter G. Woodson's story is that of a poor child rising above his circumstances to achieve heights to which few persons aspire. Born in poverty in Canton, Virginia, he was forced to support himself: he found work as coal miner. Working delayed his graduation from high school until he was twenty-two years old. He was able to continue his education at Berea College in Kentucky and at the University of Chicago. He completed his education with a doctor of philosophy degree from Harvard University in 1912.
On graduating from Harvard, Woodson began his career as a teacher. His real love, however, was black history. Before Woodson's time, there had been only sporadic attempts to document black history. Carter Woodson took it upon himself to fill in the gaps. In 1915, he founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, an organization whose contributions to the understanding of black life and culture cannot be overestimated. This group of respected scholars has published much research on black history and has fostered understanding within the black community and outside of it.

Carter Woodson contributed much to both scholarly and popular understanding of black history. He wrote many books, including The History of the Negro Church, The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861, and The Negro in Our History. In 1916, he started the Journal of Negro History for scholars and researchers. He started the Negro History Bulletin, aimed at a general audience, in 1937. In the meantime, he continued his research. He was responsible for instituting Negro History Week, first observed in 1926. If, as it is believed, ignorance is the cause of oppression, Carter G. Woodson may have done more for oppressed people than anyone else.

FLASH-FACTS

Began the systematic study of American black history
Organized the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History
Established Negro History Week